Northern Hawk Owl - "What's up?"
EOS 40D, 70-200/2.8 at ~105mm
1/2500, f/5, ISO 1600, Flash -2/3, handheld, manual exposure metered on trees, and confirmed on histogram
baited
Northern Hawk Owl - "What's up?"
Baited, February, Quebec Canada. Maybe flash is set slightly too high, and try backing down -1 or more (to avoid the overflashed look).
Thank you for looking, and your suggestions are always appreciated.
Pose, details, exposure control and BG look great. Maybe a tad more contrast?
Excellent posture, and lovely detail captured here Brian. Superb eye contact too. Congrats on an outstanding image.
I like the defussed background -- its just right to backup the colors on this great owl. That slight head turn adds a lot to the owl in flight.
Great flashwork. Well exposed and good detail. Like the eye contact. Well done
Originally Posted by Axel Hildebrandt
I concur. I think by adding fill you need to compensate in this case by increasing the contrast. I think the background of sticks and limbs add to this image as opposed to just a plain sky.
Really pretty image of a beautiful bird.
Very special pose. I wouldn't have picked overflashed so I take your word for that. I have no nits to mention at all. Congrats! :)
Brian:
I think your self assesment about the flash is correct. That was the first thought I had about this beautiful image. Sometimes reflection off the snow will give a fill flash look to the underside of a bird, but the background suggests it wasn't sunny, so the brightness of the image does appear unnatural to me. It wouldn't take much of a reduction to eliminate that effect. I suspect just a small EC correction in post would help a lot.
Other than that, it is quite nice, sharp, great wing display. I might vote for a bit more room top and left.
Cheers
Randy
Lovely pose and great HA Brian. I think maybe backing on the flash would have been ideal. But an easy fix through selective colour or curves. I am asking a basic question because I am still trying to understand MM. Once you metered off the trees for a zero exposure comp I assume (like a grey card) did you add any exposure comp or keep your reading off the trees? Pretty basic but I have yet to use it! (MM) Thanks.
Thanks to all, and really appreciate the nice feedback!
Hi Jackie!
It was a fairly dark, cloudy day with some falling snow, and snow on the ground. I knew the Hawk Owl was dark, and looked around for something neutral. I metered off the distant trees which was pretty close. I then "clicked up" and checked the histogram. I was introduced this technique by Jim Neiger and James Shadle ... it is a great way to intimately know your camera equipment ... "click down" when a white bird presents, and "click up" when a dark bird presents, and "click back" to get back to your starting point (neutral). The technique also works well when you start losing light from moving clouds covering the sun ... just "click up", acquire subject, focus and depress shutter. Then when the sun comes back out ... just "click down", acquire subject, focus and depress shutter. Whenever you need to recheck you setting, just find and meter off your same distant trees, and you are back in business. For me, manual works well for birds in flight, especially against a varied background. Hope that helps!
Great exposure and super detail captured. I also like the eye contact.
I would have preferred a bit less space below the bird and a bit more above.
Very helpful. Thought you would have to go plus after metering. Just starting to fool around with MM. Thanks for the reply:)
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